Allergy Busters! Teacher’s Guide Written by Gregory L. Vogt, Ed.D., Nancy P. Moreno, Ph.D., and Barbara Z. Tharp, M.S. BioEd Teacher Resources ISBN: 978-1-888997-92-7 © Baylor College of Medicine © 2016 by Baylor College of Medicine All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-888997-92-7 TEACHER RESOURCES FROM THE CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE The mark “BioEd” is a service mark of Baylor College of Medicine. The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only and should in no way be taken to be the provision or practice of medical, nursing or professional healthcare advice or services. The information should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation or advice of a physician or other health care provider. Call or see a physician or other health care provider promptly for any health care-related questions. Development of Allergy Busters is supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number R25 AI097453 (Principal Investigator, Nancy Moreno, Ph.D.). The activities described in this book are intended for students under direct supervision of adults. The authors, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), NIAID, and the NIH cannot be responsible for any accidents or injuries that may result from conduct of the activities, from not specifically following directions, or from ignoring cautions contained in the text. The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of BCM, image contributors or the sponsoring agencies. Photographs used throughout this guide, whether copyrighted or in the public domain, require contacting original sources to obtain permission to use images outside of this publication. The authors, contributors, and editorial staff have made every effort to contact copyright holders to obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted images. However, if any permissions have been inadvertently overlooked, the authors will be pleased to make all necessary and reasonable arrangements. Authors: Gregory Vogt, EdD, Nancy Moreno, Ph.D., Barbara Tharp, M.S. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and guidance of William A. Thomson, Ph.D., BCM Center for Educational Outreach. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of an audio recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without prior written permission of the publisher. Black-line masters reproduced for classroom use are excepted. Center for Educational Outreach, Baylor College of Medicine One Baylor Plaza, BCM411, Houston, Texas 77030 713-798-8200 | 800-798-8244 | [email protected] www.bioedonline.org | www.bcm.edu/ceo Allergy Busters Teacher’s Guide © Baylor College of Medicine ii Table of Contents 1. What’s My Allergy? 1 Using Survey Techniques to Gather Information 2. The Birthday Party Menu 7 Meal Planning with Allergies in Mind 3. Pardon My Dust 15 Investigating Airborne Sources of Allergies 4. From Where Does Pollen Come? 21 Flowering Plant Reproduction 5. Pollen in Your Region 28 Tracking Pollen Counts 6. Cockroach Patrol 33 Cockroach Reproduction and Allergies 7. Go Fish for Allergens 36 Use Your Knowledge to Win! 8. Your Story 49 Using Information The Allergy Busters Teacher’s Guide is an integrated approach using survey techniques and graphing to help students learn about allergies, the immune system and allergy- causing organisms. The activities in the guide are designed to be used with two short stories, Where’s Noah? and Cockroach School and the Bigfoot Monsters. All components are available for free download from www. bioedonline.com. Allergy Busters Teacher’s Guide © Baylor College of Medicine iii 1. What’s My Allergy? Using Survey Techniques to Gather Information Objective: Introduce students to types of allergies and survey methods Time Needed: 2–3 class periods plus homework assignment BACKGROUND Worldwide, almost 50% of children and adults are affected by allergies. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, approximately 5 percent of children and 4 percent of adults in the United States have food allergies. Asthma affects more than 17 million adults and 7 million children. Hay fever, respiratory allergies, and other allergies (e.g., Latex, drugs, chemicals, etc.) affect approximately 10 percent of children 18 and under. Clearly, allergies are a significant health issue. Allergies result when the body’s immune system (white blood cells, glands, and some organs such as the skin, thymus, and spleen) misidentifies harmless substances and treats them as harmful. The immune system is the body’s frontline defense against disease. The immune system is responsible for identifying, attacking and remembering harmful microorganisms, like some kinds of bacteria and viruses. However, when the immune system encounters a substance that is harmless, but still treats it like it is harmful, an allergic reaction will occur. Itching, rashes, breathing difficulties, fevers, and more can be present. In some cases, the reaction is so severe that emergency care is needed immediately or the person will die. This sometimes happens with food allergens (the agents that cause the allergy) such as peanuts or with insect stings or bites. Recent studies by teams at the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (National Institutes of Health) have pointed to the possible mechanisms for the development of allergies. The mechanism depends on the structure of proteins from outside and inside the body. Proteins, which are made of long chains of amino acids, perform a vast array of body functions. Somewhat surprisingly, the investigators found that the most allergenic proteins are those that are least similar in structure to comparable proteins within the body. Thus, the more an allergen (such as in food or insect stings) differs in structure from a person’s own protein, the more allergenic it is. Allergies exist in many different forms. Some of the things to which people can be allergic include the following: cockroach waste and body parts; medications; the components in dust, especially animal saliva and skin flakes; dust mites and their waste; various foods (for example, peanuts, tree nuts or shellfish); insect stings; natural latex; mold; animals (cats, dogs, etc.); pollen; or plant irritants (such as those contained in oily residue from Poison Ivy). In this activity students will conduct an allergy survey with family and friends and compile the result in a classroom database. They will draw conclusions on what the most common allergies in their sample group are. Materials Needed Allergy Busters Teacher’s Guide © Baylor College of Medicine 1 Teacher • Copy of Where’s Noah? storybook • Stapler Per student group • Sticky notes • Various art supplies and writing materials • Poster boards or newsprint Per student • Completed copy of “Letter for Parents or Guardians” (see “Setup”) • 3 copies of the “Allergy Survey Form” • Copy of “Where’s Noah?” storybook SETUP Photocopy the “Letter for Parents or Guardians” on school stationary, if possible. Complete the information on the letter. Make one copy per student. Make three photocopies of the “Allergy Survey Form” per student. Staple the letter to the front of the three “Allergy Survey” pages. (Optional: Place unstapled pages inside of an envelope.) Have students work in teams of 2–4 for Part 2. PROCEDURE Part 1. Reading and Vocabulary 1. Read aloud or have students read the story “Where’s Noah?” This story describes the experiences of Noah, an elementary school student with peanut allergies. 2. As you or students read the story, create a list of new words on the board. In particular, make sure your students become familiar with the terms allergy, allergies, allergic, allergen, and immune system. A vocabulary list also is included at the end of the story. (You will need the class graph created in this activity for use with Activity 3.) Part 2. Conducting the Survey 1. Ask students, Do you know anyone with allergies, either to a food (like Noah) or to something else? If they do know people with allergies, list the different allergies on the board. 2. Tell your students that the class will be doing a project on allergies. Explain to students that surveys are an important tool of scientists and allergy researchers to gather data they need to do their work, and that students will conduct an allergy survey as a homework assignment. Each student should interview 9 people (3 forms per page), and ask questions of family members, friends and others. Students will record the answers to questions on their forms. Students also should complete one form for themselves. 3. Show the forms to your students. Go over how the forms need to be completed. At the top of each page is an example of a short introductory speech they may use to begin each interview. Have students write their names and the name of the school in areas provided. Instruct students not to cut apart any of the survey sheets. 4. Point out to your students that the forms do not have a place for people’s names. Explain that when biomedical surveys are conducted, researchers are especially careful to respect the privacy of the individuals studied. By not including names on the forms for this study, privacy will be protected. 5. On the day when students take home the allergy survey forms, also provide students with the “Letter for Parents or Guardians,” (if not stapled to the survey pages), that explains the project. Allergy Busters Teacher’s Guide © Baylor College of Medicine 2 6. Give students a deadline for completing their forms. Students should try to conduct 9 interviews, but may not be able to conduct more than a few interviews.